Forgotten in Nightmares
by Jealouswayward
Summary: No memory, no name, and no past, a young girl awakens in Raccoon City on September 29th to the blood curdling horrors of the fallen city. Saved by Leon Kennedy, she teams up with the rookie cop in the hopes of surviving the horror of Raccoon City and uncovering her past. [Leon X OC]
1. City of the Dead

The first thing the girl remembered was pain rippling across her forehead when she opened her eyes. She hissed in annoyance and flung her feet over the right side of the bed she was laying on, only to wish that she hadn't. Everything ached as if she just had just been through a grueling workout, her sore muscles screamed at her to get back into the nice warm bed. The girl whined, massaging her sore shoulder as if that would ease her pain, it only worsened it.

_Oh, God. _She squeezed her eyes shut and tears rolled down her cheeks as the pain rose sharply, then leaving quickly as it had come.

She brushed aside her hair and squinted into the darkness towards the electric clock on the bedside table. It's red lights blared One O'clock in the morning back at her. She groaned and stood, flipping on the light switch positioned between her bed and window. Her eyes strained under the lights as massaged her eyelids as white dots danced across her vision.

_What the hell. _The girl winced and braced herself against a rough dusty wall.

She rubbed her eyes, stepping away from the bed. The wooden floor was cold and gritty, with dust and God only knows what else clinging to her bare feet. A large crooked lamp that hovered over the bed cast the only light in the room, dimly illuminating her surroundings. Outside light struggled to shine through opaque curtains that dressed a small window while just below it sat a compact desk littered with crumpled magazines. To her right, a small galley kitchen, cluttered with pans and utensils covered in food, it looked as if it hadn't been used in decades.

_Where the hell am I? _She frowned.

She looked down at her body, curvy and petite. Dressed in a white tank top and plain underwear, she knew this body was hers, easily recognizing the faint stretch marks that marked her stomach and her light brown legs. The dilemma was, she didn't know who she was.

_What the fuck!? _, She blinked idly and furrowed her brow.

Her heart sank. Idly standing by wasn't going to answer her questions. Hesitant, she took a step forward to the window. Her sore muscles abruptly spasmed and seized forcing her to lurch forward. Her arms shot out as she stumbled over the edge of the desk and in doing so, scattered the magazines across the floor.

She gritted her teeth and worked through the pain as her muscles loosened, taking in a deep breath as the pain subsided she tentatively added more weight, strengthening her posture. She stepped carefully back over one of the magazines, it's stale glue clinging to her foot, bringing it to her attention.

Reaching down, she peeled the magazine from the bottom of her foot. It was just like any typical magazine, it had local articles on people in the area, local events, real estate listings, etc. She sorted through the pages, before turning to the title page: The Raccoon Monthly.

_What the hell? _She understood the text, however, the place remained foreign to her. Her stomach did a flip as she slowly read through the blurb under the title.

"Undoubtedly one of the most beautiful and safest cities this side of the Arklays, Raccoon City boasts a rich history that is truly a gem of the American Dream.

"Funded by the Umbrella Corporation since the 1960s, our bustling small mountain community boomed economically and structurally from the small rural town in the Arklay Mountains to the great city we know and love today… "

She raised a brow, a detailed blurb about where she could be, but only left her with more unanswered questions. A scream echoed through the building, dragging her away from the magazine and her thoughts. Her breath quickened as yet another blood-curdling scream echoed through the halls. Then nothing. Silence.

_What the hell? _She stared at the door.

Pursing her lips tightly, she hesitantly approached the door, opening it slightly to peer out into the hallway. The place looked as if a hurricane had passed through, doors with numbers barely hanging onto their front were flung open, papers and debris littered the chipped wooden floor.

I'm in an apartment complex? She frowned. Another scream and the sound of a door slamming echoed through the hallway.

"Hello?" She scanned the area."A-are you alright?"

No answer.

She carefully took a step out bringing her arms close to her chest, A subtle breeze drew her attention back to her bare legs. She was practically naked. Looking back, her eyes fixated on the small closet next to the bed. She moved quickly, hardly acknowledging the click of the door as it shut behind her. Coming to a sudden stop in front of a hanging mirror on the door of the closet. Cocking her head she felt her breath catching in her throat as the unfamiliar figure did the same. And again when taking a step back.

_T-This is me? _She moved an arm for confirmation.

She ran her hands over her face, examining her features. She was young, at a guess late teens to early twenties? Her nose, soft and refined in shape, seemed to fit her small face that was partly hidden under the shadow of black curly hair. Pushing the dark locks back uncovered dark almond-shaped eyes.

Another scream echoed from outside the door. A small silky bathrobe with matching fuzzy bath slippers greeted her as she tugged open the closet door.

_You've gotta be kidding me. _She groaned and looked around the apartment for something else hurriedly shoving the flimsy material to one side in search of something more practical. Nothing.

She huffed, grabbing the bathrobe and slipping it on, forcibly tying its small sash securely around her waist. She tossed the slippers out from the closet floor and shoved them on before rushing over to the door again. Cracking the door open, she peeked out. Nothing had changed, the hall was still a mess.

Tentatively, she inched her way down the hall, making sure her steps didn't make a sound on the creaking wooden boards. She took a quick peek in the apartment to her left. Empty. Clothes and kitchenware were sprawled out across the floor as if the owner had left them in a hurry. She stuck her head in further, Nothing the continued ramshackle state of the place. The fridge had been left open offering nothing more than bare shelving.

_What the hell happened? _She took a step back and continued down the hall, flashing but a quick glance over her shoulder before tiptoeing down a nearby flight of stairs.

She continued on out of the hall and slowly descended the stairs. She stopped halfway catching the subtle sound of movement came down below her. Picking up her pace she came to a door marked _2F_ and paused. A soft hiss made the hair on her neck stand up, she inched down and reached for the door handle, frightened and curious to find out what lurked behind the door. Then a scream echoed from downstairs, drawing her attention away.

Whatever was behind that door moved swiftly the moment the scream had let out. The sound of the wooden floor was being ripped apart tingled her ears as they grew louder. She took a step back as a series of short hisses and low growls followed, she held her breath, daring not to make any slight movements. Bringing her hands to her chest, she slowly backed away as the thing scurried away from the door.

_Ok, what the hell? _She began to shake.

The sound of a window breaking rung behind the door, followed by a high pitched screech and the sound of wood being ripped to shreds. Then silence. Another strained scream was let out downstairs suddenly ending in a series of gurgles before dying out. She didn't flinch, her eyes were still locked on the door to apartment rooms labelled 2F, lost for words. A chill crept up her spine.

She lingered for a moment longer slowly pressing forward, continuing further down the stairs to a wall that separated the stairs from the apartment lobby. She grabbed an umbrella from the rack in front of her, holding it firmly in her hands ready to strike at the first sign of danger. She took a deep breath, turning slowly into utter clutter and chaos, a running theme of this place. Bags laid scattered on the floor, fake plants overturned, and the lobby benches pressed firmly against the main entrance covered in blood.

_What in God's name? _Her hand shot up, covering her gaping expression. What the hell happened?

This wasn't right, everything had felt too recent. The fridge from upstairs had been too clean too cared for to have been left too long. The whole building just felt wrong. She suddenly was alerted to the sound of furniture screeching across the linoleum floor. She turned to stare down the hall that made up the east side of the ground floor apartments.

Her ears hummed with the sound of soft slurping and crunching as she proceeded through the hall, umbrella at the ready. She glanced down, blood-stained and trailed across the white floor to the second to last apartment door. She felt her chest wring together in a tight knot, that's where the sounds were coming from.

"Do you need help?"

No answer.

"H-hello," Her small voice echoed through the hallway.

A low moan emitted from the room down the hall.

Someone is hurt! She loosened her grip on the umbrella and took a hesitant step forward. The moaning continued, forcing her to take a shuddering breath as she continued forward She gripped the umbrella with a new iron grip as she slowly opened the door. She was met with near darkness, faint shadowing gave some defining hints that the room could have been used as a slaughterhouse. More so, when a flash of light illuminated the small space directing her attention to a hunched over figure on the floor.

"Hello?"

The sound of moaning stopped for several moments, followed by a grunting sound before continuing as if he hadn't heard her. She held her breath while shimmying along the brick wall, groping at every indentation for a light switch. She sighed with a slight relief when her fingers met a switch, the lights flickered on.

It was a man was hunched over on the floor, his white shirt and jeans covered in blood. Without hesitation, she dropped the umbrella, rushing to his side, her arm draping over his shoulder.

"Oh my God!" She grabbed hold of his forearm and tried helping him up. "Are you-"

The man shot around and clenched his hands around her throat. She tried to scream, but his grip on her was too tight stopping any sound to leave her throat. The attack was so sudden and so vicious, her vision began to cloud.

She removed one hand from her attacker's wrist and frantically reached for the red umbrella that she had dropped. Her fingers firmly gripped the leather handle, then she brought down hard against her attacker's forehead, hard enough to knock him off her.

The girl scurried away from him, coughing violently and trying to catch her breath. She glanced back up at her attacker, who had taken to thrashing violently, pounding, clawing at the floor. His jaw was dislocated, several inches away from where it should be, his chest had so many bullet holes that it looked like he had been used as target practice. She could see his bones in some places on his leg, from what looked like burns. His arms were covered in deep bites, all of them looked penetrated to the bone.

_Oh my God! _She clasped her hand firmly over her mouth and began to slowly shift to her feet.

Her attacker followed her actions, limping slightly off balance and snarled at her. She screamed and bolted for the door, slamming it behind her. The creature pounded on the door, roaring loudly. She took a step back, the door bulged forward and the handle rattled violently.

_This isn't going to hold! _She felt her stomach do flips. _Oh my God! I'm going to die!_

Sounds of movement began ringing from another apartment, a medley of growls and heavy footsteps. A grey hand clawed its way onto the trim of the nearest apartment door to her, taking a large chunk from the wood. Adrenaline shot through her. Dropping the umbrella, she sprinted down the hall, quickly avoiding the hands that reached out to grab her. She sobbed, shaking them off, only to attract more of them. She slammed through the double doors to the east hallway without looking back.

She glanced frantically to her left and right, trying to find something strong enough that would block the doors. She sprang into action, gritting her teeth as she pulled one of the benches from the front door to the doors that lead to the hall. She proceeded to pile chairs and others alike.

Taking a step back, she wiped the tears from her cheeks and watched the door as it started to bulge. Moans and growls followed from the other side as grey fingers slipped through the crack between the doors, clawing small-sized chunks out of the wood. Her heart fell into her stomach, this wasn't going to hold forever.

_Oh my God- oh my God- Oh my God! _She began to cry again, fighting to stay on her feet the adrenaline left her.

A sound came from above her, there were more of those creatures upstairs. As if to prove her correct, a low growl came from the stairwell. She needed to get out, She ducked and squeezed through the small gap she had made in the wreckage and squeezed out the front entrance holding her small gown down above her knees.

She pushed the door open and crawled outside, standing up she was met with the sight of carnage and destruction. Trash cans layed overturned, riddling the sidewalks with decaying trash, cars were piled up and abandoned in what looked like an attempt of organized evacuation, some were wrecked, having crashed into lamp posts and into buildings.

"Mother of God…" She breathed out and ran a hand through her hair.

"Attention all citizens: Due to the citywide outbreak, you are advised to take shelter at the Raccoon City police station," blared off in the distance. "Free food and medical supplies will be provided to everyone in need."

_The police- The police will know what's happening. _She felt some relief come over her, however, it was short-lived.

A loud shriek came from behind her, letting her know that she needed to book it. She started to run at the first sounds of creatures banging against the door. She needed to find a map, a sign, anything that could direct her to the police station. She turned a street corner and passed a boutique, stopping to glance at street signs and other directional signs.

_Raccoon City Police station, Thank God _. She stopped and followed an arrow to the left.

The sound of glass breaking came from behind, she turned swiftly. A group of grey women had broken through the boutique window behind her, growling and hissing at her with decaying teeth. Backing away, she stared at the bloodied glass shards that jutted out from their skin, it didn't seem to stop them. She cried out and bolted to the left, a large iron fenced stone building stood off in the distance. A large sign marked R.P.D hung over the main gate.

"Oh my God! Somebody help me!" She screamed as she ran and crawled over abandoned cars that had piled up in front of the police station. However, the louder she screamed, the more of those things would limp out from the darkness, snarling and stalking towards her.

She hopped down off the last car only to wish she hadn't, five of those things thrashed against the gate, shoving their arms through the gaps in bars and clawing at the air. Taking a step back, she glanced at her surroundings.

_Another way in- Another way in- _She turned on her heel letting out a piercing scream.

A small group of the rotting _things _had gathered a few feet behind her. She wasn't concerned with most members of the small horde, just the one who lead them. A man engulfed in flames, snarling at her with crisp charred lips. She screamed again taking a wide jump around him, avoiding his reaching hands and the fire that threatened to burn her, before jumping on top of an abandoned car. The group growled harmoniously and followed after her, reaching and clawing marks on the roof of the car.

"Stop! Get away!" She screamed attempting to swat their hands away. "Leave me alone!"

The sound of glass breaking caught her attention, a school bus engulfed in thick smoke and flame. More of the things crawled out from the busted windows like rodents, shambling to their feet and threw their withering bodies forward, ignoring that their flesh was burning.

_What the hell are these things?!_

More continued to shamble towards her from underneath cars and dark alleys, joining in the chorus of moans. One had enough smarts to rigidly climb up on the hood of the car, narrowly missing her ankle. Moving further back on the roof of the car, she turned and slid off the back end, making a run for it further down the street. Glancing back over her shoulder, she caught what sounded like a gathered shriek with more bodies scrambling around the car after her.

She ran the length of the white iron fence before turning swiftly into a street labelled _Warren St _, only to be stopped by a large barricade. Without thought or hesitation, she rushed forward and began to climb the crude structure. More moans and growls encouraged her to pick up her pace, not looking back, she popped her head over the barricade, finding some relief that the street below her was empty.

_C'mon, you can do this! _She grunted and hauled herself over the top of the barricade slowly shifting over the piled wood and shifted carefully down onto the wet asphalt below.

The street was no different from the others, only that it seemed to be void of any of the rotting creatures. Wrapping her arms around herself, she hesitantly moved one, staggering towards a building labelled _Ennerdale Parking Garage _, before it began to rain harder, soaking her completely.

She squealed and ran for the nearest awning by the small entrance to the garage. Wringing water from her hair while trying to keep herself a little warm, she chanced a scan of the street for an entrance into the police station yard. Her eyes settled upon where the spiked iron fence conjoined with a brick wall. Before following the span of the red brick to where an overturned car laid.

_I could jump from that car and climb over the wall. _She frowned and looked down at her slippers, with limited grip and the hard rain, this was going to be extremely difficult.

_I can do this- I can do this- _She psyched herself up with some steady breaths and stretching, relaxing her muscles and getting her blood pumping. Right leg back, one arm back, and chin up, she prepared to sprint. Only to freeze on hearing a low growl and the soft clicking of nails on concrete from behind, slowly turning her head, the sight made her blood go cold.

At least twenty feet away, stood a dog, a Doberman, or what the very least resembled one. The creature's skin and matted fur had peeled away from around its head and slender sides, exposing muscles and gnarled bones. A chunk of its neck had been torn out, revealing more muscle and bone. It stared at her with white pupil-less eyes, the left one was barely hanging one, clinging with effort to a small vein. A grey tongue lathered saliva across the remains if its decayed mouth, thick droplets of the cloudy mess slid down its pointed teeth before letting out a long howl. She blinked at it, frozen in her running stance. It looked back down at her before charging.

"What the fuck?!" She screamed out loud more to herself and sprinted for the overturned car. Losing one of her slippers to the wet asphalt, she gritted her teeth and endured the rough texture scraping the bottom of her foot. Before she could make it halfway, something black lept across her line of vision.

Another Doberman had come out of nowhere, equally as deformed as the first one. Before she could even react, the first abomination leapt on her back sending her to the ground. Fueled with pent-up adrenaline, she ignored the rough scrapping of her knees and flipped around bringing her fist against the side of the animal's rotting head before Staggering to her feet, sprinting in the direction of car.

With howling and barking still echoing from behind, she jumped and climbed up the side of the car before bounding over to the slick brick wall of the station. She gripped onto the indentation etched onto the other side of the wall and tried to haul herself up, her biceps seared in pain defying her actions. Hearing the dogs, she glanced behind her, one of them had made up onto the car.

"No!" She yelled at it, fighting to get a good footing on the brick wall. "Get away!"

The dog snapped at her before leaping, she acted fast, letting go with one hand she swung herself to side. The dog shot headfirst into the brick wall and fell to the sidewalk below her. Its limbs aggressively twitched before leaping back to its feet only now it was joined by three others, each snapping and jumping up at her. Gripping the wall again with her free hand, she let out a cry and began to haul herself over the top of the wall.

The remaining slipper fell, as she tried to gain better traction. The flimsy material barely marking a sound as it tumbled to the ground before the carnivorous dogs. Reaching the wall halfway at her waist, she quickly swung her over the side, straddling the concrete top. Taking a few deep breaths, she looked back down at the sidewalk, watching the dogs ripping her fluffy slipper to shreds.

Holding back tears at the thought that could have been her instead of the slipper, she glanced down into the enclosed police yard. It was a jungle, each side of the yard was sealed by sturdy looking brick walls with a single wooden gate just to the left. Long grass had sprouted through any given gap hiding what appeared at first glance to be pieces of debris and training equipment.

She swung her other leg over the side, checking the quiet yard for any signs of movement before jumping down the last few feet onto the grass. She hissed, as her sore ankles screamed from over endurance at her as she staggered to the wooden gate, pushing on it. The gate moved forward a little before stopping. She blinked and pushed harder to no avail.

_You have got to be kidding me!_

She peered between the crack between the gate and wall, someone had pushed a vending machine in front of the gate. Growling in frustration, she banged her fists against the splintering wood and spun around heading towards the windows of the station. Peering through the first window, she was able to make out a long and empty hallway.

Gripping the bottom frame of the window, she pulled letting out a sigh of relief when the window nudged upward, only to be caught on something in the track.

Growling in frustration, she squeezed her fingers into the small cracks and pushed upwards with all her might. The frame suddenly shot up halfway, before getting caught in the frame again.

_Well, I guess that's not too bad. _She frowned and hesitantly stuck her head through the small gap.

Carpeted stairs that led to a landing was on her left and on the other side of the stairs was a door. She carefully crawled through, setting her bare feet down on the damp red tiles below before slowly shutting the window behind her, and taking a few cautious steps into the hallway.

"Hello?" She called out, her voice echoed off the walls.

Like the apartment before, there was no answer. Just the sound of her breathing and old creaking wood to keep her company. Fear made her breath catch, with the pleading hope that those things hadn't found another way in. Regardless, she looked down at her damp bathrobe, which had turned sheer, revealing more skin than she was comfortable with. She needed to find clothes and shoes first if she were to search for people.

She inched forward slowly, prepared to run at the first sign of a threat. Stopping at the mouth of the long dark and foreboding hallway, she took a left by the stairs to the small closet door. Surprised that it wasn't a closet at all but what looked like a small office with a heavily shadowed desk and lockers. Past the desk, was a blinking light on the wall, a small light switch.

Without hesitation, she strode over to the switch flipping it on and felt relief wash over her as the lights in the room slowly flickered on. Revealing a small entryway to her left, not concerned with this, she rushed over to the lockers and started opening them one by one, only to find them empty.

_There has to be clothes in these lockers. _She slammed the third locker door, moving to open the last which held a hammer leaning against the back with black grime clinging to the handle. Taking hold of the tool, her attention was caught by a piece of paper tucked snugly in the corner of the locker's metal frame. Taking it in her hand, she slowly unfolded it.

_A map? _

Moving over to the desk, she spread the crumpled map out on its metal desktop. She scanned over the map that was labelled _Police Station, 2F, _she scanned over rooms labelled Library and _S.T.A.R.S_ _Office_ to a set of rooms marked Shower Room.

_Maybe someone left clothes behind in there? _Sliding her index finger across the page, she followed the set of rooms out the door to a set of small rectangles that marked stairs next to a landing. The ones she saw when she clambered through the window. Taking a deep breath, she folded the map and made her way out of the small office.

_It's only one flight of stairs, hopefully. _She took several breaths and teetered towards the stairs. _Clothes and then search the station, you can do this._

Clinging to the banister for support, she slowly ascended the stairs, careful not to make a sound. She held her breath as she ascended the second set of stairs and approached the first landing. As she ascended the stairs the first thing she could make out was a bloodied scalp, reaching the top she screamed an ear-shattering scream that ripped through her lungs and echoed through the halls.

Thereupon the top of landing, under the dim moonlight shining in from the windows, was a corpse of a policewoman laying in a pool of her own congealed blood. Her flesh appeared to have been ripped from her bones with an eye missing from its socket, she bared white teeth still shone in the limited light. The body looked as if it had been ravaged by wild dogs.

Screaming while trying not to gag, she dropped her hammer and tumbled back down the stairs, leaning onto the banister again for support. Swallowing back the hot bile threatening to spill over her tongue, she moved. She was in full flight now, her mind fainting on sheer madness. She now knew why there were no normal people around, they had been devoured. They were eating people. Eating them.

Reaching the bottom of the stairs, she screamed again as one of the creatures smashed through the window she had entered earlier. Shrieking she quickly jumped over the fallen monster and sprinted down the long hallway. Reaching the end, she turned the corner and screamed again. One of those monsters stood before her, throwing itself against a vending machine.

The creature turned his head and snapped its teeth at her. She stumbled back as the being turned with outstretched arms causing her to fall backwards onto the linoleum floor, something moved below her, grabbing at her leg. She tripped over the body of a police officer, who now like the other, attempted to take a chunk out of her.

"NO!' She shrieked. "Let go of me!"

Suddenly, awash of light, illuminated the officers decaying features, causing her to scream more. Loud bangs echoed through the hall, her ears rang and she tightly closed her eyes, feeling the monster's grip on her going limp. Kicking the deceased officer she began to scurry away, only to be grabbed by the forearm and hauled up. She thought she could hear someone talking, but it was probably just another one of those things.

"No!" She wailed. "Let go! Let go!"

Her eyes shot open and she began to shove, hit, and scratch at her attacker, screaming and fighting for her life.

"Miss- Jesus!" Her attacker hissed. "Miss please calm down, you're safe now!"

Summoning the presence of mind, she stopped her attack and gazed up, her eyes met the darkened face of a man. He was staring back at her with his grey eyes filled with concern, she smiled into his chin that she barely reached and let loose a loud laugh, almost hysterical, startling the man.

"Miss?"

Tears rolled down her eyes as her laughter quickly turned into loud sobs, running her hand through his product stiffened hair she brought him down to her level and wrapped her arms tightly around him, crying into his hard shoulder before going limp with exhaustion.


	2. The Search

The girl jolted awake, quickly shifting herself into a more upright position. She appeared to be sitting on a green cot. She groaned, her brows furrowed as she waited on her eyes to adjust to bright light and colors of her new surroundings. Throwing her legs over the side, she rubbed her eyes and tried to take in the sight of her surroundings, she was confused, there was a man who held her and-

"I wouldn't try to stand if I were you," A man's voice came just off to her right.

The bright light subsided, she glanced to her right an older man dressed in a police uniform sitting beside her on another cot. He stared back at her with caring eyes that showed the first signs of ageing on his dark skin. He looked terrible, his face looked as if it had paled several colors lighter, a rough scruff outlined his thin lips, and he painfully clutched his bandaged side.

"What-?" She began.

"It's alright you're safe now," He shifted on the cot, clutching his side and gritting his teeth. "Marvin Branagh."

She massaged her forehead, the memory of what had happened before she had passed out flooded back to her. The creatures scratching and biting at her and the young man who had saved her from a gruesome death.

"That guy-" She began.

"The rookie, Leon," He stated. "He's fine, he's just checking on a friend of his-"

_ I'm sure that'll last long, he's probably dead by now. _ She held her stomach as it began to cramp lightly.

"There's no need to panic," Marvin said, offering her a small smile. "They can't get into the main hall, we're safe."

She folded her arms tighter around her stomach and glanced around. The room was large enough for someone's voice to echo. Papers, duffle bags, and bloodied clothing laid strewn about on the dirty marble floor. Self standing cubicle curtains were placed haphazardly around her beside makeshift beds and bloodied army cots. Amongst the chaotic state of the main hall stood a tall statue of a woman between two flights of stairs that led to two separate landings and more clutter.

_ The police station isn't even safe. _

"Are you two all that's left?" She asked.

"There were more of us, about fifty of us, cops and civilians" Marvin fumbled through a small plastic bag, grabbing a pill bottle. "But as the days past, fifty became forty, then thirty, then twenty- I was the last one before Leon came-"

"Last couple of days?" She asked tilting her head to the side. "What do you mean? How long has this been going on?"

"For about a week," Marvin raised an eyebrow at her.

_ A-a week? _ She instinctively placed a hand over her heart, feeling her chest start to ache. _ Have I been in that apartment for a week or- _

She bit the bottom of her lip as more questions followed simple answers, the conversation was going nowhere, it only continued to confuse her. Marvin seemed to mirror her earlier motion, tilting his head slightly while popping several small white pills into his mouth.

"Are you alright?"

"I-I just woke up." She stammered.

"Just woke up?" He questioned.

"I-I woke up to this," She let out a shaky breath. "I ran from an apartment complex to here- with those things crawling, pouring out of every opening-"

"You mean to tell me," Marvin began. "You've been asleep while all this happening?"

"I-I don't know." She wrapped the blanket around her shoulders. "I could have- or- I don't even know where I am really."

"How old are you?"

"I don't know."

"You don't know?" There was a pause with heavy weight surrounding it. "Do you have some amnesia or something?"

"Is that what you call it?," She asked, seeming to shock the older man.

"You know nothing at all?" He began. "Where we are, what year it is, nothing?"

"I know some things," She corrected. "How certain things work and what their purpose is for- but other than that, nothing really."

"Fuck-" Marvin cursed and rubbed his eyes.

"It's September 29th, 1998," Marvin said sorting some items out onto the cot. "This all started on the 24th, on that first day hundreds of people became zombies."

"Z-zombies?"

"The undead," Marvin explained. "They shamble around and eat- well- the living."

The memory of the woman at the top of the stairs flashed before her. A chill ran down her spine at the thought that could've been her too if that man, Leon, wasn't there to save her.

"Umbrella Mercenaries and the Swat Teams tried to hold out between the residential and shopping districts," Marvin continued. "But we had already lost, thousands had already turned."

She didn't say anything, she was horrified to put it simply. An entire city destroyed in a couple of days, men, women, and children, simply gone in a blink of an eye. Still not even cold enough to be in the grave.

"I'm sorry," He shifted in his seat. "I don't mean to frighten you."

"No-" She began. "You're alright, I've already seen what's happened outside, I guess it's calming to have some sort of explanation for it."

She sat and talked with Marvin about the city, the United States, soaking up any information that could tell her where she was and any indication about who she was. He told her that she had a southern accent, whatever that meant, and that she had a skin color that people would often described as black. She understood half of the things he was explaining to her, but it simply brought on more questions.

After Marvin had taken out a map to show her the country and where on the map they were, she felt a shiver run down her spine, taking another blanket from beside her to cover herself further. Despite having dried off, the main hall of the police station was drafty.

"I gathered some clothing for you behind that cubicle," Marvin pointed just out of view. "I don't know if any are your size, if not there's some in duffel bags around the room."

"Wouldn't that be stealing?"

"Considering that they don't even need it," Marvin stated. "I'll turn a blind eye."

She stood quickly at his approval and made her way around the cubicle to a pile of blue jeans, crinkled shirts, and socks. Stepping around a pile of shoes, she discarded her bathrobe and began to try on the clothes. It was a process of trial and error, none of the clothes fit her well at all and if they did, it tended to be in one are and overly tight or even loose in another.

Eventually she settled on a pair of ripped boot cut jeans that fit a little snug around her hips and a slightly oversized button up denim jacket over a dry tank crop top marked with the letters R.P.D. The only shoes that fit her were a pair of worn out cowboy boots that covered most of her calf. Grabbing a white elastic cloth she tied her curly hair up. Once satisfied, she came out from behind the cubicle, finding Martin a little slumped over on the cot. He looked up at her with glassy eyes and gave her a little chuckle.

"A black woman wearing cowboy boots," He chuckled. "Oh you'd get singled out-"

_ Black? _She gave him a strange look, not understanding the terminology.

Marvin kept laughing, no longer a stoic expression or those caring eyes he had given her earlier. It was like someone was relentlessly tickling him. Carefully she approached, unsure about how to feel about this, the outsole of her boot hit a pill bottle, knocking it slightly. Reaching down and twisting the bottle between her fingers, she noted the typed print on the label.

_ Warning: Adults only take one pill. Side effects may include dizziness, lethargy, hallucinations, night terrors, or death. Property of the Umbrella Corp. _

She instantly defined it as pain medication, recalling earlier that Marvin had taken small white pills from a plastic baggy. He slumped over onto the cot and began mumbling to himself, nearly knocking off a white laptop that set next to him.

"Oh shit-" She rushed to his side and jostled him awake. "Marvin, open your eyes, look at me!"

Marvin jolted letting loose a lot growl before staring at her wide eyed. She leaned back, stunned by his behavior and how closely that growl sounded like the zombies outside and in the hall.

"But I'm tired," He groaned, rubbing his eyes. "All my friends are dead."

She blinked at him, having no idea how to respond to such a statement. Reaching over, she tried setting him up straight, letting out a grunt as she struggled with what was technically a dead weight. Marvin went limp slightly and began to lightly snore. She needed to keep him awake somehow, by any means necessary.

Taking in a deep breath, she pulled her hand back smacking the older man sharply across the side of his face, the smack echoed through the hall. Marvin shrugged and opened his eyes, looking up at her with a slight anger.

"Why?"

"I'm sorry," She apologized. "But you're going to have to stay awake."

She didn't know if he was all there or not when he groaned and positioned himself on his back, staring at the ceiling with a gloss over his eyes. She slowly sat down beside him, taking his hand in her and kept vigil over him. Several moments pass by without them saying anything to each other, she could hear the rain and sound of movement outside.

"Y'know," Marvin slurred, breaking their silence. "I swear I've seen you from somewhere before-"

_ Oh shit, not him too. _Her heart skipped a beat at the thought of Marvin having lost his memory too.

"Marvin, we just met-," She patted his hand.

"No-No-No-No-" He corrected. "From before this."

"Before this?" Her grip on his hand tightened. "What do you mean 'Before this', do you mean before all this happened?"

He didn't answer, he mumbled to himself again something about a woman and someone named Irons. She rolled her eyes and shook him, getting his attention.

"Marvin!"

"No, Chief," He murmured. "We don't know anything about Umbrella."

"What the hell is Umbrella?!" She growled in annoyance, tired of reading and hearing that phrase.

Marvin kept mumbling to himself before looking up at her again, his glossy eyes seemed focus for once, as he reached up and cupped her cheek with his right hand. Confused, she backed away slightly from his touch.

"Do you mind if I call you Estelle for now?" Marvin said and smile smile plastered on his lips.

The name felt like nails against a chalkboard to her. It sounded too old fashion, making her think of an old woman smiling with dentures and rollers in her hair, passing out brow colored candy, and pinching little kids cheeks.

"Why that specific one?" She removed his hand and got down on one knee beside him.

"It was my grandmother's," He gave her a small weak smile. "You look an awful lot like her when she was younger."

"I-I'd be happy to take it for now- hey!" She grabbed hold of Marvin's hand. "Marvin, I'm gonna need you to stay awake, I know you're tired, I am too-"

"I'll be with her soon-"

_ Oh fuck- Oh shit- _

"No you won't you seem fine-" She reassured.

"Now I know where I've seen you from," Marvin's voice went down to a whisper. "You were here a month- looking for your-"

"What?"

"Brother-"

With that Marvin's head went limp and his snores quickly echoed through the main hall.

"Brother?"

She clutched her head, feeling that sharp pain from the apartment return when she uttered that word.

_ "Peyton!" She growled. "Would you stop treating me like a kid!" _

_ Peyton towered over her, giving her a small smirk before ruffling her hair. His skin was darker than hers, but nonetheless they shared similar facial features. He wore a white tank top, camouflage cargo pants with thick army boots, he had dog tags hanging around his neck. He may look army, but she knows he's a cop of some sort. _

_ "Sorry Squirrely Girly," He reached up and started pinching her cheeks. "It's a little hard to take you seriously when your so tiny." _

_ "I may be tiny-" She elbowed him hard in the gut, causing him to keel forward. "But I can beat your ass." _

_ "Peyton!" Came a booming voice from behind. _

_ "Chris!" _

_ A man with short and spiked dark brown hair walked up to her. His eyes were a mesmerizing deep ocean blue, flecks of silvery light performed ballets throughout. His face was strong and defined, as if his features were molded from granite. He had dark eyebrows, which sloped downwards into a serious expression. He crossed his arms and looked between them, clearly a little unhappy with their behavior. _

_ "I thought I told you take things seriously," Chris gave a soft glare at Peyton. _

_ "Ah c'mon, Redfield!" Peyton reached over a tousled her hair. "We were only goofing around, she can't really hurt me." _

_ "Like hell I can't!" _

_ "Enough," Chris barked. "Before Irons throws both of you out of the station." _

_ "Pfft, yeah whatever," She turned on her heels and walked away. _

_ "Hey!" Chris barked after her. "I'm not done-" _

_ She extended her middle finger at him and smiled to herself when she heard him growl in frustration, before promptly leaving the room. _

She massaged her head as the memory settled. Her heart seemed to skip a beat allowing a warm. Feeling to wash over her. The men felt familiar to her, they felt close, even though she didn't have the faintest idea who they were. She couldn't explain it at all.

"_ Marvin- Marvin- This place is swarming with zombies!" _ A voice buzzed from the walkie, bringing her out of her daze. " _ Marvin! Marvin!" _

Instinctively she reached out took the walkie talkie from next to Marvin and pressed the red button. She recognized that voice.

"Leon!" She half shouted into the receiver. Letting go of the red button, the device came alive again.

"Who's this?"

"I-I'm" She paused for a second and gave Marvin a quick look. "I'm Estelle, the girl from the West Hallway."

"_ Where the hell is Marvin? _"

"He took some pain medication," Estelle responded. "He's out like a light."

"_ Damn! _ " Leon blasted on the other end. " _ Listen, there's a map by Marvin, can you grab it?" _

"Uh sure," She haphazardly began to sort through the pile of papers and folders that laid below the cot, falling upon a small map showing the east side of the police station under a large bloodied white folder.

"I found it!" She began to flip it open.

_ "Good, now can you see if there's another path out from the fire escape that doesn't lead me back through the East Hallway?" _ He said. _ "One that doesn't lead me back up the stairs?" _

Estelle placed her finger on the small box that was labeled the fire escape and scanned the map.

"No," She hit the call button. "It looks that the only exit from the fire escape is the door that leads out into the yard, the stairs, and the East hallway door."

_ "Shit!" _ Leon cursed on the other end. " _ Look after Marvin, I'll be there in a couple of minutes!" _

The walkie talkie went silent, almost immediately after she heard gunshots coming the other end of the station followed by raised muffled voices. Estelle dropped the paper, feeling terror wash over her. At this rate, she'd be the only one alive in the station.

Marvin suddenly groaned, his fingers already clawing at his bandaged side whist rolling over in the limited space provided by the cot. Estelle screamed before reaching for a blanket and throwing it over him. Her arms circling around in an attempt to settle him.

"Marvin! It's ok!" She placed the back of her hand over his forehead, feeling how hot and clammy it was.

_ Oh shit- _

"Leon," She pressed the button on the walkie talkie. "Marvin trying to rip off his bandages and has a fever, I-I don't know what to do."

"_ Check if there's any first aid spray around," _ He buzzed. _ "Try spraying it on his wound." _

She dropped the walkie talkie and searched around Marvin for the spray, flipping over duffel bags and clothing, she didn't know exactly what she was looking for, she just had a gut feeling she would recognize it when she saw it. Moving away from Marvin and went around behind the large receptionist desk.

Estelle empty drawers and threw papers out around her. She cursed and looked under the desk, nothing. She ran back over to Marvin, who now was breathing heavily with a light slick of sweat covering his brow, in a full panic she checked by his cot again, double checking under items she'd not long since looked under making more of a mess in the main hall. She looked over to the door marked 'West Office',

_ Just pop into the West Office, search for first aid, and run like hell. _ She told herself while reaching down to pick up a curved metal bar, bringing it up behind her head as she approached the office door.

Estelle turned the knob and cracked the door open slightly, peering into the dark room. She could make out some roll-top desks and a set of stairs to her right, a banner hung on the ceiling of the office that read 'Welcome Leon'. Squinting, she scanned for zombies or any other bodies. Her vision locked onto a police man to the far side of the room slumped over in his chair, unmoving and silent.

_ Fuck. _

Carefully she knocked on the door lightly, he didn't stir. Far from convinced, she knocked on the door even louder, he still didn't move. Slowly she inched forward, shutting the door softly behind her and making her way down the three steps off the landing.

Estelle watched her footing as she made her way towards the closest roll-top desk, her weapon held up high. Making her way to the fist roll-top desk, a note was hanging on the wooden linked covering, picking it up she tried positioning into the dim light that came through the receptionist window.

_ Rookie's First Assignment _

_ Leon S. Kennedy, we're putting you on a very special case for your first assignment. _

_ Your mission is...to unlock your desk! The key to your success is in the initials of our first names. Input the letters in order of our desks. There are 2 locks- 1 on each side of your desk. Make sure you get them both. _

_ Basically, your first task is to remember your fellow officers' names, but you figured that much out, right? Good luck, Leon. _

_ By the way, it might take a little work to get Scott to give you a straight answer. _

_ Lieutenant Branagh _

Estelle looked further down the page to another note that was scrawled and covered in drops of dried blood.

_ Be glad you're not here, Rookie. _

She exhaled shakily and looked back at the unopened desk and the celebratory banner that hung from the ceiling. Squinting, she could just about make out the outline of party favors and cups on the opened desks. Placing the note back down, she rounded the three desks positioned to the left and headed towards an open door, light beaming out of it. The sight of blood stopped her in her tracks, the trail leading further into the room giving indication that someone had been violently dragged.

Estelle peeked her head around the corner, a dead body of a man wearing a janitor uniform sat against the wall, his head slumped down. Like the others, his skin looked mottled and slightly rotted, however it looked as if the blood blood was fresh. To her right was a large desk covered with papers and a small flag with stars with red and blue stripes.

Cautiously, she entered the small office, stepping and circling around the bloody trail. Keeping her eyes on the dead man, she rounded the desk, finding a safe placed snugly into right back corner of the office. Not even wanting to try the dial lock, she went straight for the desk, opening its drawers.

Estelle let out a sigh of relief, the first drawer she had opened had a white can that was marked 'First Aid' in green letters on the can. Picking up the can, she placed it into her sweater pocket and made her way out of the small office.

"No leave me alone!" A scream echoed from afar. "Leave me alone!"

_ A little girl? _She felt her heart drop into her stomach.

The screaming sounded as if it was coming from behind the other entrance to the West office, a door she recalled being labeled like the 'West Hallway' same place where she was rescued before. A soft moan dragged her back from her thoughts and with just enough time to catch the previously deceased janitor longing at her. His cold fingers brushed her neck as she let out a scream of her own. Managing a sharp kick to the shin before she scarpered away, bursting through the door that lead to the West Hallway.

Slamming the door behind her with a satisfying click, yet another scream resounded from down the hall. Estelle remembered her surroundings, turning to the left, stepping over the dead zombies on the floor and began to walk the long length of the hallway she had run down screaming before.

Retracing her steps she came back across the broken window, now boarded up haphazardly with leftover pieces of wood wrapped in caution tape. A shadow moved slowly behind the boards, stopping, she raised the metal bar. It stopped before throwing itself against the boards, groaning and growling at her sticking its arms through the small cracks of the boards.

Estelle jumped, watching the zombie push against the boards, baring his teeth at her and clawing at the wood. It looked as if the boards would come off at any second, however, they stayed firmly in place. Taking in a few steady breaths, she moved forward, keeping a distance from the hands that grabbed at her as she approached the stairs.

Ignoring the groaning of the boards behind her, she slowly made her way up the rickety stairs quietly and as quickly as she could. A scream came from the first landing, Estelle glanced up catching a glimpse of a little blonde girl dressed in a school uniform backing away from dead police woman, now on her feet and stumbling for the little girl.

"Hey!" She shouted instinctively.

The eyeless zombie snapped its head over to her, letting out a low growl. Estelle instantly regretted her decision. The zombie stumbled toward the railing, reaching out for her, before falling off the landing down head first to the linoleum floor below with a resounding blood splattering splat. The little girl on the landing cried out and ran up the next flight of stairs.

"Wait!" Estelle shouted, running up to the first landing. "Stop please!"

Estelle caught a glimpse of the blonde girl running on the second landing up to the third floor. She quickly followed, running up the length of the stairs as fast as her legs would take her, coming upon the trash landing of the third floor, the girl nowhere in sight and not making a sound.

_ What the hell? _ She bent over slightly, catching her breath. _ Is she some sort of track prodigy? _

"Little girl?" Estelle wheezed out. "You don't have to run, I'm not a zombie. The main hall is safe, there's other people there."

No answer.

_ Well shit. _

Estelle straightened herself up, staring down the hall to a stockade of tables, chairs, and lockers. Light shone out from a knocked down wall, a silhouette of a female figure contrasted in the light. Slowly she approached, passing by a small roll-top desk.

"Little girl?" She whispered. "Hey, everything's going to be ok-"

Estelle approached the open wall and turned the corner, finding a bright lamp and small wooden art model sat in front of it. She frowned, glancing down the hallway. With the girl nowhere in sight, she decided she needed to get back to Marvin.

She made her way back to the top of the stairs, watching a shadow moving up towards her. The police woman had survived her fall and was now coming after her, growling and salivating from her bloody mouth.

_ Shit- shit- shit- _

Estelle took several steps back, trying to find a way to go around her. Time was short, panicking she ran back through the damaged wall and down the hallway, not looking back. She passed several cracked windows before making a left turn to the adjoining hall, stopping at another stockade of boxes and tables.

Her vision settled on the only door and quickly entered into a mess of a room. It looked like a records room or some sort of makeshift storage room. Like the main hall, papers were strewn about covering the tile floor with generic office supplies. Drawers and shelves from furniture were torn from their cabinets and overturned and paintings were wrapped in bubble wrap.

Estelle walked forward coming upon a red streak that lead around the main pillar of the room, she followed the red trail to the origin of the gore. Covering her mouth to hold back a scream, she stared at a hooded man hanging down head first between bloody ceiling tiles. An expression of pure horror was stricken across his grey decaying face. She glanced to the door on her left, the exit out from the room.

_ W-what could have done this? _She slowly removed her hand and took in a deep breath.

Not wanting to stay in the room any longer she searched for another exit, avoiding the hanging man, she continued past the concrete pillar coming to a second concrete pillar and a wall iron bars. She went forward, coming around the second pillar to plastic box taped on a locked gate.

_ C4? _She raised an eyebrow at the bold wording on the tan plastic.

A banging noise came from the other side of the storage room, the police woman had caught up with her. Psyching herself up, she sprinted to the exit keeping her sight off the body that hung from the ceiling. The something grabbed her hair, pulling furiously. A roar came above her, she didn't need to look up to know what it was, only that she needed break free.

Letting loose another scream, she brought down her metal bar against the wrists of her attacker. Breaking them with a loud crack, freeing her hair she heard the zombie drop from the ceiling. She crashed through the door, stumbling into the next room. Estelle's eyes swept over a spacious library, it was brightly lit and there were shelves upon shelves filled with books.

The sounds of slurping and munching could be heard below her. She peered over the railing at the ground floor of the library, a zombie in ragged sweats and a jacket, he leered over a body violently shaking the limp corpse back and forth, taking large bites out of the fresh corpse. Estelle starred as fear ripped through her body.

The door behind her bulged and groaned with the sound of zombie throwing himself against the wood, bringing her back. Knowing that she didn't have the luxury of time, Estelle cut across a walkway positioned upon the bookcase and trudged down the stairs on her right. There were two ways to leave, a door right under the landing and a door on her left a few feet away from the foot of the stairs.

Passing four large desks, she made her way over to the door under the landing. Turning the knob and cracking the door, she looked out onto the first landing of the main hall. She sighed in relief, one that would be short lived. A groan and the sound of shuffling feet came closely from behind her, not looking back, she flung the door open and ran out onto the landing.

Slamming the door behind her, she pulled the bench to right in front of the door, successfully trapping the zombies inside the library. She peered to the main hall below, Marvin still laid on the cot where she had left, sleeping soundly. Estelle trudged along the landing and quickly sped down the stairs, taking a knee at Marvin's side.

"It's alright," She whispered to him, pulling off the blanket and unbuttoning his shirt. "This'll help-"

Estelle removed the first bandage, revealing two bloody bite sized chunks taken out of Marvin's side. She covered her nose, for his wound gave off a putrid smell that was akin to zombies roaming in the station. Taking out the spray bottle, she gave wound several spirits, Marvin groaned in his sleep. Discarding his bloody bandages, she took gauze from the small medical box next to the cot, haphazardly wrapping his torso and side in a tight bind.

Estelle took a look at her clumsy wrap, knowing that's all she could possibly do. With a sigh, she draped the blanket back over him and sat back down on the cot next to him, putting her head in her hands with exhaustion.

_ Ugh- how am I ever going to survive this. _

Her stomach quickly growled, voicing its displeasure. Causing her to frown, who knows how long its been since she's eaten. If she wasn't going to allow herself to be eaten alive then starvation was another box she needed to avoid. Her mind lingered, looking around the main hall for something to eat, next to nothing in the bags she'd searched through earlier but there was no food in the many bags in the main hall- except for the vending machine in the West Hallway.

_ Do I really want to risk my life for snacks? _

Her stomach gave another loud rumble.

Estelle took a quick glance at Marvin, who now lay peacefully on the cot. Taking in a sharp breath, she slowly stood and headed carefully back to the West Office door, her metal bar at the ready to swing before she headed back into the darkness.


End file.
